I’m not really a “put something in my mouth and smoke it” kind of girl. Yes, I have friends who frequently puff on cigarettes, and, yes, I have a couple who like to indulge in the more mysterious of smoke habits, but that’s not really for me.

I’ve smoked four cigarettes in my life and hated every second of each one. And honestly? I’m more wine than weed.

So it’s a surprise to everyone, and myself at times, when I admit that I indulge in hookah smoking every now and then.

My “corrupt” friends introduced me to the habit almost a year ago, and I’ve got to say, it’s so tasty, it almost makes me forget that — you know — actual smoke is coming into my lungs. It’s like social smoking for beginners.

Of course, not everyone shares my enthusiasm for getting down with this Middle Eastern pastime.

Though hookahs are legal for anyone over the age of 18, many still view it as smoking; some even see it as being even worse for the lungs than smoking a cigarette.

According to The New York Times article “Putting a Crimp in the Hookah,” California, Connecticut and Oregon are already introducing bills that could limit or even ban hookah bars.

And in a few other states, such as Maine, there are places where there are no exemptions to indoor smoking laws, causing hookah bars to crash and burn.

Let’s for a minute look at the argument against smoking hookah objectively (and not from my bias that apple-flavored hookah tastes amazing).

Hookah smoke may smell better than traditional cigarette smoke, but it’s still smoke. The water used to fuel the hookah only lets out 5 percent of the nicotine, but that’s still a problem.

In fact, according to the article, smoking an hour of hookah is equivalent to about 100 cigarettes.

Even if you split that amount by the number of kids in a hookah circle — how many is that, exactly? Two? 26? — it still comes out to … well, a lot of cigarettes. It’s no surprise that smoking hookah is linked to some of the same problems as cigarette smoking like lung cancer.

The above data does not look good for hookah lovers and are the biggest reasons why, starting next year, kids at the University of Oregon won’t be able to bring their cool-looking hookahs and yummy-flavored tobaccos to campus.

I am not for lung cancer, oral cancer, heart disease, high levels of carbon monoxide or other dangers brought upon the body by tobacco smoke. In fact, I’ve yet to meet the sadistic person who is.

However, I’m not in favor of a total ban on the activity.

Consider if hookah was banned from our campus, or any other campus. Just like weed and underage drinking, hookah would become an illegal, under-the-table sport, and that could cause a different sort of problems.

Instead of spending the energy on creating banning bills or the money to catch puffing perpetrators if hookah even becomes illegal, University administrators and legislators could try and educate users on the dangers of smoking or ways to just inhale 50 cigarettes instead of 100 at a time.

We, as students, should act responsibly when it comes to smoking hookah. Instead of smoking hookah twice a day, maybe cut it back to twice a week — or even, dare I say it, twice a month? — and make a session 30 minutes instead of an hour.

Moderation is usually the golden key. We should always be wary of who we smoke with — sharing a pipe with someone who has a cold or could have herpes may not be the best idea.

If we users take hookah carefully and officials focus less on banning and more on direct health effects, we may be able to avoid a brutal war on hookah. At the very least, I may be able to enjoy the wonder that is apple-favored smoke once in a while without fear that it’ll be taken away from me.

_Tolu is a sophomore in Media._